After 15 years of hosting videos, and with approximately 300 hours of video uploaded to the service every minute, YouTube reinvents itself on a daily basis. And while the YouTube algorithm works in mysterious (and potentially dangerous) ways, view counts give us a clear idea of what’s uber-popular on the service.
In the early days of YouTube, the most-watched videos tended to be viral moments such as “Charlie Bit My Finger.” But as the platform evolved, big-name celebrities took over the charts with music videos — only to be challenged by a growing number of bizarre children’s videos that continue to amass views. The biggest surprise is that no legacy hit is safe; every video in the top 10 most-viewed videos of all time arrived in the past eight years.
With that, here’s a look at the top 10 most-watched YouTube videos (as of publish — like everything on YouTube, the numbers could skyrocket at the drop of a new hat).
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10. “Sorry” (2015) – 3.36 billion views
9. “Learning Colors – Colorful Eggs on a Farm” (2018) – 3.65 billion views
8. “Gangnam Style” (2012) – 3.84 billion views
7. “Uptown Funk” (2014) – 3.99 billion views
6. “Johny Johny Yes Papa” (2016) – 4.14 billion views
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5. “Recipe for Disaster” (2012) – 4.36 billion views
4. “See You Again” (2015) – 4.79 billion views
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3. “Shape of You” (2017) – 5.05 billion views
2. “Despacito” (2017) – 7.04 billion views
1. “Baby Shark Dance” (2016) – 7.05 billion views
Source: Polygon
